Joe Gibbs suggests eliminating extra points — and even field goals

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 7, 2014, 7:10 PM EST

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Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs is all for eliminating the extra point. But why stop there?

Gibbs told Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio that he wouldn’t mind getting rid of field goals in addition to extra points. Why should 11 football players have to march the ball down the field only to put the team’s fate on the foot of a puny kicker? Gibbs thinks that if you want to give out partial points to a drive that gets stopped short of the end zone, award points for a team that gets inside the 10-yard line or the 5-yard line but fails to score.

“Even field goals, you know what I mean? I was one who wanted to let the team decide,” Gibbs said. “You get to the 10 you get one point, you get to the 5 you get two. I’m for anything like that where the team — that’s 11 guys — help determine the outcome of the game. Not one person kicking something.”

Gibbs is an old-school coach whose career started back in the days when men were men and kickers were expected to play another position, not just specialize. So it’s not surprising that when Gibbs thinks of a team of 11 guys determining the outcome of a game, he’s not thinking of one of those guys being a kicker.

But eliminating field goals isn’t even up for discussion in the NFL. Anyone who wants to de-emphasize kicking would be wise to keep the focus on extra points.

There’s more than a fair chance this is the dumbest sports idea since sleeved NBA jerseys.

icewalker946 says:Mar 7, 2014 7:26 PM

I find the extra point as one of these ‘romantic’ things you hear old guys talk about when they bring up baseball.

You got a team, goes down the field and kicks a FG. 3 points. Then the team gets the ball back a little bit later and stalls again and kicks another FG. 6-0 now.

Team getting shut out gets the ball and goes down the field and gets into the end zone. That EXTRA POINT now is rewarded to that team for actually getting a TD instead of getting a FG.

Leave the kicking game the way it is. I’m sure no one even thought about changing the kicking game until someone brought up a 42-yard EXTRA POINT. Now we have goofballs talking about getting points for just getting to a certain part of the field?

while your at it… they can use a pitching machine for kickoffs and punts. hell, send all kickers and long snappers to gitmo. since they seem to be second to terrorists on americas most hated proffesions.
shut up and worry about nascar gibbs.

It’s called “football”, right? And let’s get rid of kickers? What a fool.

icewalker946 says:Mar 7, 2014 7:29 PM

jgg1 says: Mar 7, 2014 7:19 PM

Nuts!!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
General Anthony McAuliffe couldn’t have said it better himself!

Thumbs up if you know what I’m talking about.
Thumbs down if you don’t.

blackqbwhiterb says:Mar 7, 2014 7:30 PM

Mark Moseley is flabbergasted!

idontliveinmymomsbasement says:Mar 7, 2014 7:30 PM

At the end of every season, every team will get a Super Bowl. Because “we’re all winners !!!”

glenne81 says:Mar 7, 2014 7:31 PM

The fact that that these ideas are even open for consideration says something about where the Game has been led. Doesn’t anyone near the top consider the History and Legacy of the game itself? Because the kicker has evolved into a specialist doesn’t diminish the fact that they’ve been a historic part of the Game. Its the equivalent of Baseball using a Pitching Machine in AL Games. Its becoming non-sense.

Leave everything alone and return the NFL-College draft exclusively to the weekend. Stop trying to improve on something that does not need improving. It’s like a bunch of old ladies being busy bodies with nothing to do but fix things that don’t need fixing. How in the world can you put any credence into someone who’s favorite movie is “Young Frankenstein”?

These kickers don’t even practice with the rest of the team, they don’t get paid highly or get taken with high draft picks. Yet a lot of times they decide games?? That seems off to me.

Yeah it called football…so what? It’s such a physically demanding sport withe some of the fastest and strongest athletes in professional sports, yet then here comes this puny kicker performing an action that has nothing to do with throwing, running, catching, tackling, jumping…the things we actually pay to see. No other professional sport has a gimmick like this.

You have to hit the ball to score runs, have to make baskets to score points, and get the puck past the goaltender to score in hockey, yet in football you can get half a touchdown just for getting the ball a little over midfield and kicking a ball through some uprights.

The suggestion ato completely alter the game and take the foot out of football is ridiculous. The idea that the kicking game adds nothing in terms of risk, intrigue, and entertainment is beyond me. Everybody on the team plays their part in the quest for victory. The variety of parts that make up the whole is part of what makes football fascinating.

I agree 100% with Joe. A less radical approach would be to devalue Field Goals by making them worth 2 points instead of 3. I suggested this several times and of course was voted down by the enlightened majority.

There are still ’11 guys on the field’ when kicking field goals, Joe. You moron.

dbfan4ever says:Mar 7, 2014 8:16 PM

Next bright idea to change football: Tackling can get guys injured so we should take it out of the game. Each player should just have a couple of flags and if you pull someone’s flag out they have to stop running and the ball will be marked down at that spot. Then at the end of the game every team gets a trophy because it is unfair to keep score it might hurt the players feelings.

As someone stated earlier, tiered field goals is the way to go. Move back extra points, 2 points for 1-30 yd FGs, 3 points for 31-49 yd FGs and 4 points for 50+ yd FGs. Games are instantly more entertaining. Done.

The winner “go back to watching a car go in a circle/oval for three hours”. Second place “child please”.

The real problem is the present commissioner constantly changing and refining the rules leading to the likes of Gibbs and his ideas. Next will be the fabulous owner of the Miami Dolphins wanting all players attending tutu classes. Then Jerald will suggest every team make the new tiered playoffs.

It’s not broken…, be careful about losing the integrity of the game. If anything make the extra point and two point conversion more meaningful in pro and college by allowing the defense to score should they block and return the kick or intercept a pass or gain possession during the attempt. The same point(s) the offense is trying to gain the defense can score as well.

eagler927 says:Mar 7, 2014 9:51 PM

What a joke! So kicking field goals which has been part of the game forever….get rid of it. But award points for getting to the 10 yard line or 5 yard line…that’s worth points. Are you kidding me? Talk about ruining a great game. Joe needs to stick to NASCAR

By NO means do I agree with Gibbs on this one, but I think I would prefer his idea over those who want to change the value of FG depending on their length. Why reward teams that are unable to move the ball deep into the opposing side’s territory by giving them the opportunity for more points on a longer FG? How many times will we see teams purposely committing penalties in order to move the line of scrimmage back further to get more points on the FG?

The kicker being “one person” that decides a game is so far from reality. It takes a good snap, a good hold, and 8 other guys blocking 11 defenders to make a field goal. I’d think someone like Gibbs would realize that. But maybe he’s gettin’ old and senile.

Adopt the rugby x points, when TD is scored the kick is made from were the player crossed the goal line that’s why you see rugby players try and work there runs to the middle of the end zone, if not the kicker sometimes has a bad angle to knock it through the uprights. Also you would need to move the spot back to get room to angle it through. I have loads of other great ideas but I will leave them for another day.

I don’t think anything needs to be changed but if it must , then eliminate the extra pt and give 7 pts for the touchdown…. then the scoring team gets the 2 pt option but loses a pt if it is unsuccessful, making the scoring system in essence unchanged.

“And I am not a big fan of that whole forward passing thing. Just think, 11 guys working all together. You don’t march all the way down the field just so ONE guy can throw it, and then another ONE guy could catch it…and then maybe drop it. Not only that, but the other team could catch it too, so you just give away the football. Nope, not on my watch. If I were a coach again in the NFL, it would be counter tre, lead iso, off tackle right, old school smash mouth football.”

tmkelley1 says:Mar 8, 2014 9:45 AM

So, then what do we call the game, once we take the foot out of it? Can you imagine the Alabama/Auburn game without that missed field goal returned for a touchdown?

The real problem is that the modern pro game has outgrown, in every way, the size of the field. Players are so much more faster, bigger, stronger, taller and just plain better at what they do than even 30 years ago, when Joe was winning Super Bowls. I didn’t then hear him complaining about Mark Mosely’s kicking prowess and how much it benefitted the 11 guys he’s talking about.

bamboozle99 says:Mar 8, 2014 10:09 AM

Is it really that bad of an idea? Teams would more often go for it on 4th down. I think it would make the game actually much more entertaining. But you’ve got to bring back tackling!

Agree 100%. Hate the FG. MOve the ball maybe 30 yards, some little punk trotts on, does a soccer kick and they get 3 points. Then that little punk jumps up and down like he really did something. Esp hate the 49’ers who seem to lead the league every year is this catagory of 3 pointers. Score a TD and must go for 2 every time. No more PAT or FG’s gets my vote.

Kudos Joe! I have thought for years that we would have more football being played by more football players, if we only removed the goal posts! And points scored might likely remain the same, not go down.